Coast Guard ship ICGS Vishwast arrested the 16 fishermen from two locations - one batch from 118 nautical miles off Chennai coast and another about 116 nautical miles off Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh - on December 5, a defence release said on Saturday.

Their three boats were seized under various sections of the Maritime Zones of India Act, 1981, the release said, adding all the boats with the Lankan fishermen are being towed to Chennai to be handed over to Tamil Nadu police.

The incident is the latest in a series of arrests of Lankan fishermen by the Coast Guard for allegedly illegally entering and fishing in Indian waters.